Love and the Assassin Ch. 03-04

Chapter 3

The building where the gym was located seemed bright and cheerful. The picture she received from her contact did not do it justice and it made Ike uneasy. What if the contact was wrong, what if this girl was really training, what if she got hurt and it truly was an accident, she thought. The what if's were staggering.

The further they walked into the building the more Ike's nerves got the better of her. Something was not right, something didn't fit. "Something's wrong." She said.

"I know; I feel it too, what do you think it is?" He said looking down at her.

There was a women sitting behind the reception desk, her head was down in concentration. This was her contact, she was sure of it. Squeezing Justin's hand they walked up to the counter and waited while she finished up her call.

"Yes sir, tomorrow at four pm, we'll see you then." The girl said hanging up the phone.

She looked up and stumbled back, "What are you doing here?" She said, returning to her work.

"Oh I don't know I thought I would come by, may be sign up." She paused. "What the fuck do you mean, what am I doing here?" Ike was seething mad.

The girl stepped toward the counter top and whispered. "Look, you can't be here right now, it's too dangerous. You don't even realize how much trouble I can get into just for calling you." The woman was exasperated.

Ike reined in her anger and then asked, "What is going on here? One minute you're telling me that you need my help and now this is about you, how much you can get into trouble." She stepped back. "I am so out of here." Ike started for the door, but stopped and turned back toward the girl. "If I was you, I would think about what you're saying, because come hell or high water, I will be back and I will take you down with this place."

Ike stomped out of the building leaving the girl to stare at her back side. Something was not right. Something had happened in the last twenty hours, but Ike was not going to let it stop her from getting in.

"What do we do now?"

"We wait. There was something about the girl's action; she kept checking the hallway to our right. We need to get back to the hotel and check the building's diagram again, we're missing something small, I just know it."

"Do you think she will help if we come back?" He asked, holding the door to the hotel open for her.

"I'm more then sure of that. She's scared, someone got to her, I think the owners know." Ike opened her door and walked back over to the table and picked up the interior diagram.

"Holy shit! We were right on top of her. The girl was only ten feet from that counter, that's what she was looking at, that's why she was so nervous." Ike threw the photo back down and paced the room. "We need to get back in there, and we need to do it now!"

"Let's go." Justin said.

Ike went over to her bag pulled out her 9mm, and two C4 cakes. She was tired and pissed off, if she couldn't get the girl the nice way, she would get her the hard way, so what if there wasn't anything left of their filthy gym.

Across the room Justin was also loading up, the waist band of his pants held two pearl handled .38's, on his hip sat a six inch hunting knife, and on the other hip sat his equalizer, a taser gun. Shooting over fifty thousand volts of electricity into your target, will not only cause them piss themselves; which he had to admit he liked, but they would talk about anything you wanted them to talk about.

He crossed back into her room to see that she too was ready for a fight, any signs of her being tired were gone. She picked up her jacket and headed out the door.

They rode the elevator in silence, now was not the time for talking, it was a time for reflection. They both knew what needed to take place, they were going in hard and fast taking down anyone that got in their way. The girls were to be lead out of the gym and their parents notified.

The streets had been calm when they first headed out that morning, now only an hour later they were bustling. Shops were opening as people began to make their way to work or school. It was not the best time for the invasion they half ass planned, but what could she do, Angelique needed them; she needed to be saved.

Walking back into the gym, the girl still sat behind the desk, it had been quiet when they were first there, but now they could hear the girls training. Shouts of triumph echoed down the halls as one of the girls landed a perfect dismount, music played as another worked on their floor routine and there was Angelique, a cast on one arm and a basket of clothes in the other. She was gaunt, her skin was grey and flat, the clothes she had been wearing in the picture, still hung from her body. Ike was sure if she got close enough, she would smell horribly.

Ike nodded to Justin, it was time for them to take this bitch down. "Alright, now that you have had some time to think things through, are you ready to help?" Ike asked the girl behind the counter.

"I can't." She pleaded. "You don't get it, it was wrong of me to step in like I did. I should have left well enough alone. There is nothing else left to be said. And if you know what is good for you, leave and never come back here." She walked around the desk and grabbed Ike by the arm, trying to escort her out of the facility.

Big mistake.

Ike pulled the gun from her waist band and gabbed it into her ribs. "Oh I don't think I'll be leaving without the girl. You called me, sorry for it or not, I'm here. Now either take me to where they are keeping Angelique or I will kill you," she snapped her fingers. "just like that."

The girl's eyes bugged out of her head, as she felt the gun push farther into her side, "She's in the laundry room, down the hall and to the right, you can't miss it. Now please let me go. I won't interfere, I promise."

"The time for promises are long gone, you promised you would help us get in here unnoticed, but you fell through. Do you really expect me to just walk down some hallway because you say so? I don't think so sweetie, you're coming with me."

Ike yanked her in the direction she said to go, at the far end of the hall was a set of stairs and a door under them; Ike could hear the machines spinning inside. She walked cautiously toward the opened door, if anyone was in there with Angelique, Ike would use the girl as a shield, the loss of life didn't bother her.

"Angelique, my name is Ike, I'm here to take you home." Ike said softly.

"Yeah right, I've heard that before, hell I've even tried to get out myself and look where it got me."

Ike couldn't see her just yet but she could hear the defeat in her voice. "There is always a way out, always hope."

Trust on the other hand was different.

"Is there anyone in there with you?" Ike asked cautiously.

"No, I'm in here by myself; for now. Mrs. Broodman will be in here in about ten minutes to tell me to do the linen's again." She imitated Mrs. Broodman, 'Those sheets are deplorable, you must wash them again this instant!' "Then she'll slap me and walk away."

Ike looked at the receptionist for conformation, the girl nodded her head solemnly. "She's telling you the truth. I've watched it happen time and time again.

"So basically we have about seven minutes to get you and the other girls out of here before she knows something is up?" Ike asked Angelique.

"I guess, but I'm telling you, it won't work, nothing ever does."

Ike walked into the laundry room and held her hand out to Angelique. "It's good to finally meet you, what do you say we blow this joint?"

Angelique looked at Ike's outstretched hand and shook her head. "No, I need to get this done, if I don't get the sheets washed, I'll be beaten, thanks but no thanks." Her lip trembled with fear.

Ike ran a hand over her face and took a deep breath. "Look, I know you think you're going to get into trouble, but I have to tell you, either you move now, or I'm going to move you and trust me, you're not going to like it."

Angelique's eyes grew wide in fear, something that Ike knew all to well, it was something she felt in the camp and it was something she promised herself she would never feel again.

When Angelique made no move to go with her, she silently curse and then grabbed her by the arms and threw her into a fireman's carry. She was sure the girl would kick and scream, but she didn't she held very still, she made no movement to get away, not even a silent sob.

Justin was waiting for them at the door, he had successfully found all of the other girls and set all of the C4 Ike had given him. He saw her as she rounded the corner, across her shoulder was their target and next to her was the receptionist.

"Take the girl and get out of here, I'll meet you in five minutes." Ike said taking the girl off her shoulder.

Justin nodded as he headed for the front door, but stopped short as a short lean woman stood at the top of the stairs leading to the gym.

"What in the world is going on here?" The owners screeching voice filled the entryway.

"It's called taking you down." Ike said with a smile.

"I'm calling the police, I'll have you arrested." She said snootily.

Ike cocked her hip and drew her gun. "Go ahead and while you're at it, why don't you tell them how you're running a scam, how none of these children you call team members are actually a part of any type of organization." Ike said pointing the gun at her, daring her to call her out.

"This, this is preposterous. I'll have you know..."

"You'll have me know shit." Ike said cutting her off. "I already know everything there is to know about your little 'business'."

Ike turned back toward Justin. "Get her and the rest of them out of here, I'll be right behind you."

"Oh I don't think so." The man said coming out of the side entrance.

"I would say I was happy to meet you Mr. Broodman, but I would be lying." Justin said gritting his teeth.

"Is that really anyway to greet the man who in a snap of his fingers can take you down." He said with a smile.

"Oh I don't know about that now." Ike said with a smile. "You seem to think that just because you think you know someone, who knows someone else, you can do what you want with these children, well I beg to differ. Seriously." Ike pulled the remote from her pocket, and flipped the switch. "Oh no!" She said sarcastically. "I guess now all the C4 that has been placed around here is active, one false move and we all go boom. Trust me; it's not a pretty sight."

The wife looked at her husband and licked her lips, "You're bluffing." She said.

"Am I now?" Ike placed her finger on the trigger to detonate the C4. "You want to find out if I'm truly bluffing?"

Mrs. Broodman turned white with fright, she looked back down at her husband and then back at Ike as if silently willing Ike to be bluffing. "What do you want from us?" She finally asked defeated.

"I am taking all of these children away from here, and you will return all of the money you have taken from their parents."

"If we don't comply?" Mr. Broodman asked.

"This whole place gets blown to smithereens with you two still inside." Ike said calmly.

Justin began to walk the children out of the facility, Angelique in his arms. He knew no matter what happened now Ike was in control and he wouldn't have to worry about them over powering her. All thoughts of taking them prisoner and roughing them up vanished when they couldn't get the drop on them. Now all that was left to do was call the police and wait it out.

Ike stood by the door waiting for the husband and wife team, her finger was still posed on the trigger if they tried anything foolish. The husband had crossed the room to stand with his wife hoping it would play to her sympathy if they looked scared. It wasn't working.

Ike took out two sets of hand cuffs and moved in front of them. Quicker then she could say shit, Mr. Broodman had kicked her in the stomach, sending the C4 trigger flying. He then charged after her hitting her in the face with his fist.

"I got you now, you little bitch." he said hauling her to her feet.

Ike's head spun, the force of the blow knocking her for a loop. She stood in his grasp trying to gain her bearings. "You don't have shit." She hissed, kicking him in the nuts.

Mr. Broodman yelped in pain loosening his grip on Ike, as she fell Mrs. Broodman ran toward her, her fingers out stretched like claws aiming for her eyes. Ike kicked her feet out from under her and as she landed her skull made a sickening thud against the floor. Mr. Broodman was by her side trying to rouse her, Ike could see the blood starting to seep from the back of her head and she knew it was too late, Mrs. Broodman was dead.

"What have you done?" He screamed hysterically.

"I told you we could do this the easy way, or the hard way. You and your wife choose the hard way."

Mr. Broodman sat on the floor, his wife in his arms rocking her back and forth. His sobs filled the empty hall as Ike walked toward the door, she needed to get out of there call the police and report what happened.

"Where are you going? You can't leave us here." He cried out.

"You're so right, I can't leave you here like this, that's why I am going to call the police and tell them what has transpired here today. Then when they get here, you're going to explain how you have been ripping off these kids parents, plus you're going to pay them back."

Ike turned back toward the door and opened it. Mr. Broodman screamed and charged after her, knocking her out into the street. In his hand was her gun that he had knocked away when he first hit her. He fired the gun missing Ike by inches, she could feel the concrete kick up as the bullet hit the ground and bounced away from her, she couldn't allow that to happen again, she had to stop him.

Ike tried to get up, but Mr. Broodman was there his foot knocking her back onto the ground. His eyes were filled with rage and grief as he stepped on her hand so she couldn't grab for him. He cursed Ike's name, blaming her for his wife's death, never once thinking that if they had done what she asked, his wife would still be here.

"I am going to enjoy killing you very slowly." He sneered.

"Fuck you!" Ike spat.

He leaned over stretching out to grab for her, his hand wound in what little hair she had, pulling her to her feet. He drew back with his other hand in anticipation of hitting her, but Ike had other plans, she spun free of his hands and kicked him in the stomach. Mr. Broodman arched his body as it absorbed the impact of her kick, lowering her shoulder she ran full force ramming him the chest and pushing him into the tree behind them, the blow knocked the air from his lungs in a whoosh and sent her gun flying.

Ike, seizing the moment, grabbed the gun and leveled it with his head. "It's all over Mr. Broodman." She turned toward Justin. "You can call the police now." She said, never taking her eye off him.

Mr. Broodman stood against the tree his sobs racking his entire body. The fight that just moments ago filled his eyes was completely gone. "What have I done?" He cried. "It was all so simple, we wanted children, we wanted a house full but the doctors said Tammy couldn't have any and then we decided we would adopt, but that didn't work because they thought Tammy wasn't stable enough."

Ike looked at him and scoffed. "You think?"

He gave her a bland look of impatience. "She was not always like this, she was happy once. I guess the pressure was too much. I mean we wanted children so badly, you don't understand what that's like. When Tammy came up with the idea of a gymnastics facility, I thought it was perfect. Tammy was a world champion gymnast, she figured we could open up this place where young hopefuls could train, and it seemed that our dreams were coming true, but somewhere along the line, it all fell apart. She became obsessed. If one of the girls didn't perform to her standard, well you see what happens." He hung his head in shame pointing to Angelique. It was the last thing he said until the police showed up. ***

While the police took everyone's statement, Ike watched as the coroner brought the body of Tammy Broodman out of the building. Sometimes desperation makes you do things that you're not proud of, Ike wasn't immune to this. She knew though in her heart, she could never treat an innocent child the way they did.

"Excuse me ma'am, but we're going to need you to come back to the police department with us." The office said tapping her on the shoulder.

"I understand." She said turning back toward him.

Ike rode to the police department in the back of a tiny squad car. There was one thing about the English, they didn't believe in using gas guzzling cars, they preferred small eco-friendly auto's. As they approached the gate that lead to the prisoner entrance, Ike's heart began to beat rapidly, the tendrils of claustrophobia made their way around Ike's chest making it hard to breath.

"Is this really necessary?" She asked licking her lips.

"Yes ma'am it is." The officer in front of her said.

Ike sat back in the seat and closed her eyes. She needed to concentrate on her breathing or else she would hyperventilate. She thought about Justin and Angelique, she wondered where they were and if they were safe, she thought about her mom and her dad, wondered if they would be proud of her now.

The car came to a halt and the officer that sat in front of her opened the door and helped her from the car. From the outside, the place was ominous and overbearing but when she was out of the car it wasn't so bad. The station/jail surrounded an open air parking lot and exercise pavilion. On the right side of the station was an all glass office, you could see the whole place from one chair. Inside she could see monitors, switches and officers moving around. To the left she could see guards pacing the grounds, a stray hoop or holler, could be heard from where she was standing.

"This way ma'am." The officer said taking her by the arm.

They entered the glass building and turned right into a hallway that lead them back to the front of the building. Waiting for her was Justin and to her surprise, Angelique. At some point since she had left them at the gym, Justin had found Angelique something else to wear and although it hung from her frame, she looked ten times better then she had when she had first seen her.

Justin nodded at her as she passed; a small smile on his lips. Angelique stood there watching everyone with wide eyes, Ike sent her a mental I told you so, and followed the officers to another part of the building.

They stopped at a small grey room and the red headed officer opened the door for her. She walked through and waited for the two officers to follow her. She took the seat farthest from them and scanned the room for her escape, if need be.

"This will only take a few minutes, Miss Edmunds." The officer with the red hair said.

"Call me Ike, Mrs. Edmunds is my mother, not me." She said folding her arms over her chest.

"Ok, Ike it is, could you please tell us what happened and why you were there?" He asked again this time with a fake smile.

"Aren't I supposed to have a lawyer present or my rights read to me? Or is it not the same across the pond?"

The officer's cleared their throat, "yes well we thought you would willingly give us a statement without all the formality."

"So I'm not being charged with anything?" She asked.

"Not unless you think you did anything wrong this morning?" The red haired officer said matter-of-factly.

Ike sat up and gave him a mocking smile. "I was here for Angelique, they wouldn't let her go. I was contacted by a worker from the facility, she told me that the girl was being beaten, kept in a closet and was doing all of the cooking, cleaning, and laundry for the gym. Now correct me if I'm wrong here, but England does have a law pertaining to holding someone against their will and child labor. I went into the building, asked where the minor child was being held, the receptionist after some persuading," Ike smiled, "took me to the girl. The subject told me that if she left the facility she would be beaten severely and she was afraid to leave. I picked her up and carried her to the front part of the building and handed her to my partner Justin Soars with Eagles. That was when Tammy Broodman started yelling at us, telling us she couldn't leave, that none of the children could leave." Ike would never forget the look of pure hatred on the woman's face when she told her no can do.